Conroe honors student gets prison in drunken driving death

Published 7:06 pm, Tuesday, November 22, 2011

SAN ANTONIO - A college honors student from Conroe who authorities said left a San Antonio Chili's restaurant two years ago with a blood-alcohol level of nearly four times the legal limit has been ordered to serve 15 years in prison.

Bethany Leigh Denman, 25, made an open no-contest plea in September on an intoxication manslaughter charge in the death of piano teacher Amy Meron, whose vehicle was hit head-on in February 2010 as Denman drove on the wrong side of a San Antonio road.

The somewhat rare open plea meant state District Judge Sid Harle had the full range of punishment - from probation up to 20 years in prison - at his disposal during Monday's hearing.

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Meron's husband, who has multiple sclerosis, and her two sons declined to give victim impact statements after Harle announced the sentence.

Her sons testified earlier that Meron had been the bedrock of their family, caring for their father from the time she woke up until evening, when she would also support the family financially by teaching music.

Meron, 53, had been driving her 14-year-old son and two of his friends in her 1992 Toyota Camry just after midnight when Denman's car struck hers. Denman had a blood-alcohol level of 0.30. The legal limit is 0.08.

"She owned up to it, she's been in AA and I think she's doing well," Sieloff said, pointing out that his client had no previous criminal record. "She made very poor choices, but she did seek help. Let's not throw her away."

Testifying on her own behalf, Denman wept as she apologized to Denman's family. She will always have a hole in her heart, she said.

But probation, regardless of one's educational background or level of regret, sends the wrong message to the community, Bexar County Assistant District Attorney Charles Rich said. He asked for a prison term in the upper end of the punishment range.

"To get your blood-alcohol level up to 0.30 - that's unacceptable," Rich said. "There were numerous times when she could have made a decision that would have changed the entire course of things."

Because Denman's car was deemed a deadly weapon, she will have to serve at least half of the sentence before she will be eligible to apply for parole. She was also ordered to pay more than $13,000 in restitution.